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Dealing with uncertainty: An extract from Your Guide to Adulting by Rumbidzayi Munyaradzi

Dealing with uncertainty: An extract from Your Guide to Adulting by Rumbidzayi Munyaradzi
Rumbidzayi Munyaradzi
By Rumbidzayi Munyaradzi
10 Feb 2025
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How do you react to uncertainty? In Your Guide to Adulting, Rumbidzayi Munyaradzi shares tools and advice for young people to make sense of and thrive in an ever-changing world.

Navigating the modern world as a young adult is no easy feat. From unsettling political climates to increased economic pressure, young people are entering a challenging and complex society. 

Rumbidzayi Munyaradzi’s Your Guide to Adulting is an empowering read for the youth that encourages self-discovery and resilience to rise up to meet what is in their control and release what is beyond it. Read an extract below.

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Uncertainty always has been and always will be a part of life. Acknowledging this fact invites us to explore how to coexist with uncertainty, seeing both its positive and negative aspects. Uncertainty is a state of the unknown or a lack of confidence in potential outcomes. The word is typically associated with negative feelings such as doubt, worry, or anxiety. But does it have to be this way? I don’t think so. 

No one controls the future. When you expect tomorrow to be better than today, you don’t know if it will be, but the word “hope” frames your thinking in that moment. Hope is an embrace of uncertainty, based on the anticipation that the unknown will work in your favour. When you feel loved, supported, focused, and successful in moving towards or achieving your goals, you approach life with confidence despite reality saying you don’t have full control. Living in a state of hope puts you in a mindset where you are open to calculated and worthwhile risks in the areas of your life most ripe for change. It makes you regard consciously introducing uncertainty into your life as a necessary step towards unlocking your next level. That’s what taking a sabbatical without lining up a new job felt like for me — more on that in the next chapter. That unknown space might be temporarily uncomfortable but the right risks at the right time can be enjoyable; it tends to bring out the best in some people! This positive side of uncertainty is what we experience in our growth zone.

However, you know by now that life isn’t all good all the time.

As you cope with the pressures of adulting, even the most hopeful amongst us will experience the negative emotions that come with uncertainty. They typically creep in when hope is compromised. There will be times when you don’t know what you want, you cannot find a solution to your problems, the environment you’re in is deteriorating, or a disaster strikes.   

When Covid-19 came along, it turbocharged the world’s perception of uncertainty to a level we haven’t collectively experienced in recent generations. These past few years have been an extremely tough time to be a student, and I empathise with you. At various stages you might have missed out on classes and were unable to make up for them through online learning or with private tutors. Or you might have had concerns about whether you’ll pass your year-end exams under the strenuous conditions of those uncertain times. 

Negative periods of uncertainty bring so many questions and worries to mind. Let’s explore some tips for how to deal with the dark side of uncertainty, both now and in the future.
The only constant in life is change

~ Heraclitus

Acknowledge your feelings


Sticking with the Covid-19 experience: the uncertainty of when campuses would reopen meant an extended period of less social interaction and missed classes. That could prompt loneliness, frustration, fear, anxiety, stress, or boredom. 

The starting point here is to “feel your feelings” as opposed to ignoring them. Negative feelings tend to linger below the surface and blow up later when you get overwhelmed. Do you know you can hide the truth from yourself? That’s why acknowledgement is powerful.

While emotions are real, they are not a permanent reality. Secondly, identify a group of people you can talk to who help you to see your life in a positive light, who listen to you as you share what’s really on your mind, or who simply cheer you up. 

Third, find a hobby that you can turn to when you’re feeling down. This helps you move on from negativity instead of fixating on it. Finally, know in your heart that your feelings are valid and it’s okay to experience ups and downs. In short, it’s okay to not be okay.

Manage your social media habits


Feeling connected with others is generally healthy and uplifting. Social media has been an increasingly powerful tool to bridge physical distance, creating a sense of connection and belonging to diverse communities. Evaluate for yourself which content is positive and enriching for you and choose to follow that. A good place to start is by asking yourself: “How does this content make me feel?” Our brains tend to engage more with bad stories than good ones, leading to the spread of shared panic when society is afraid or anxious. That can lead to thinking that the world is a worse place than it actually is, leaving the door open to overreactions and misunderstandings. Focus on what is good for you, and filter out what is negative, including reducing time spent online if necessary.

A big chunk of how to handle uncertainty appropriately is about taking the time to learn the objective facts and keeping calm. You will need those two traits if you are going to make the best decisions possible. Think carefully about what you allow to influence you, especially during sensitive times like we are living in now. 

Focus on what you can control


The events in your life fall into three broad categories:

  1. Stuff you can control.

  2. Stuff you can influence.

  3. Stuff you can neither control nor influence.


During uncertain times, you will find some comfort in taking control of what you can. However, that requires you to have a realistic expectation about what that means. The short answer is that the only stuff within your power revolves around you and your mindset. That’s where most of your energy should go because you don’t need anyone’s permission to be your best self. 

Beyond that, there’s the stuff you can influence in your family, friendships, and community. This may work in your favour sometimes, but you won’t always get what you want. 

There will always be many important factors you cannot control or influence. Be watchful of the ones which affect you and create a game plan for how you will adapt to these issues as more information becomes available.

Let go of what you can’t control


This is connected to the previous paragraph, but it deserves its own special mention because it’s so hard to do. Once you’ve done all you can to control or influence a situation, or if you realise you have no influence or control, you have to accept these situations as they are, together with the uncertainty they bring. This acceptance is an important part of learning to live with uncertainty in a healthy way where you can operate (even thrive) without anxiety. DM

Rumbidzayi Munyaradzi is an author, youth development mentor, business executive and Chief Operating Officer of the Sasai Super App. Your Guide to Adulting is available online and in-store at all good bookstores.

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